Once Upon A Time...

Chapter 1 ~ Terrible Conditions

The sun beams through the window pane, catching the corners of my hazel eyes. I conceal my face from the light with my hand and I rapidly flutter my eyelids. I wipe the sweat dripping from my forehead and I wring out my sponge into the bucket of murky water. My hands and face are covered in a thick layer of cinder and my forehead is slick with sweat. Under the layer of cinder, my usual pale face has turned a bright, rosy pink. My pale blue rags are horribly disheveled and my long, blonde hair is matted into clumps. I was unwashed and unkempt. The heat radiating from the open window is drawing sweat from my body like a needle draws blood from an arm.

I soak the sponge in the bucket of water and I pant as I scrub the filthy pale tiles on the floor. I wipe the cinders from around my eyes with my wrist, only causing it to smear. I sniffle through my stuffy nose and I continue to scrub the floors. The heat is overwhelming. The light blaring at me is blinding. I just want to go home. I wish I could just walk out the doors of the main entrance behind me. I wish to walk back to my uncle's farmhouse that lies behind the glade, in the grassy field that lies across the hillsides just north of the mansion.

Ah, the farmhouse. A quiet place where I can travel to for a gentle rest, or to gather my thoughts that dance wildly inside my head. A simple household where I can go to read or get my head on straight. I love the farmhouse. My uncle is kind enough to let me rest there during the night and I get to assist him with the animals. I love brushing the horses' hair. And after I brush their hair, I ride them into the glade. I love the glade. Once I'm there, I sit up against my horse; Hawthorne, and I read my books; listening to the birds chirp during the day and the crickets sing during the night. The nights are the most beautiful out in the glade. Fireflies circle around the sky and crickets sing beautiful melodies from the trees. Beautiful full moons light the sky with the company of millions of tiny stars. It's quite a sight - and it's my favorite place on earth.

My mother died when I was nearly at the tender age of ten. She was my light. She was a beautiful and kind woman not just to me and my father, but to everyone around - whether it be that she knew them or not. I still remember her laugh and her big, beautiful smile. And her bright blue eyes that sparkled like the sea. I do recall the bedtime stories that she would read to me every night from her book-keeper's library, stories of brave princes and noble nights. Stories of courageous children and majestic creatures of the land and sea. Stories that began with once upon a time - and ended with happily ever after. I do believe that one day I will find my happily ever after. May it be days, months, or years from now. I do believe in magic and I do believe in happily ever after, no matter how strange the odds may seem for me, given my place in time.

And the lullaby...

Ah, the sweat, gentle, spring lullaby. My mother would always sing this beautiful lullaby to me at the crack of dark. The words floated so easily off her tongue, and I do remember the lyrics...

Lavender's blue
dilly dilly
lavender's green
when I am king
dilly dilly
you shall be queen
who told you so
dilly dilly
who told you so
twas' my own heart
dilly dilly
that told me so
let the birds sing
dilly dilly
let the lambs play
we shall be safe
dilly dilly
out of harms way
lavender's green
dilly dilly
lavender's blue
you must love me
dilly dilly
for I love you

Those words linger through my mind still to this day. My mother sang them so sweet and so beautifully, that even the birds perched outside on our bedroom window pane - would stop chirping for just a split second, and listen. Oh how I miss her. I miss her delicate touch and her tender heart. Such a beautiful soul, she was.